THE 6 WORST ACCOUNTING MISTAKES SMALL BUSINESSES MAKE & HOW TO AVOID THEM
Introduction As a business owner, you’re probably taking up the responsibilitiy for most parts of your business. One of those responsibilities is as a business manager. But then you’re also a consultant, a customer service representative, sales and marketing manager, and last but not least, sometimes your own accountant. To help you out, let’s look at how to avoid these 6 common small business accounting mistakes so that you can make your business a success.
1. Business is personal When you are a small business owner, it’s a big mistake to have your business and personal finances mixed up: • it will lead to horrible accounting practices • you can get into tax authority problems • you won’t be able to accurately track expenses Do yourself a favor and stop mixing those two types of purchases. You should have separate bank account for each and never mix the two.
2. No receipts Although your receipts are usually tiny white pieces of paper. However, this doesn’t mean you should discard them: • you won’t be able to accurately list your business costs • you won’t have records for tax purposes • you can’t track your expenses or maintian your budget When you’ve decided to save your receipts, don’t put them in an old shoebox. Instead, use online invoicing software that will allow you to upload an image of your receipt to the cloud.
3. No payments received Receivables, in accounting lingo, are crucial for accurate bookkeeping: • it’s very important for determing cash flow • helps you keep accurate payment records • very important for your tax purposess In order to record payments received, you’ll best use InvoiceBerry’s online invoicing software to quickly add payments from anywhere at anytime.
4. Overdue accounts Although one of the more common and unavoidable accounting mistakes, it is also something that you can at least lessen: • lower the payment due date from 30 days to 14 days • send out your invoices on time to the right place • follow-up on late payers and don’t let them off the hook If you follow these simple steps, you should be able to collect payments faster and minimize your overdue accounts.
5. Not recording cash Payments by credit or transfer are easy to record. However, when you get paid in cash, it can be much harder: • always record your cash as soon as you get it • when possible, create a receipt as proof of cash payment • it’s generally important to track all revenue and expenses By recording cash, you’ll make it much easier for you or your accountant when tax time rolls around.
6. Too much responsibility Although you feel that you are responsible for everything (and you mostly are) just remember to delegate if possible: • you can’t be good and thorough in everything • doing a lot of things means you’re not doing anything well • send out accounting services with many different options At some point you’ll have to get professional help with your taxes, and so it’s important to remember that sometimes we all just need a little bit of help.
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The 6 Worst Accounting Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
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